Boardcollector Surf Swap

Shiny Bennett Twin Fin

Below is a 6'0" single fly swallow tail Bennett twin fin shaped by Russell Head at Bennett in Brookvale. Despite the dodgy repair on the tail done by me the board has maintained an almost mirror finish glass job over its great spray. A technique I am yet to master and have had a lot of trouble finding out how to achieve. I would appreciate any advice on how to get a high gloss finish on my restorations. Do I thin down the gloss coat with acetone or styrene and do I apply it with a brush? Do I polish it with boat polish?

Russell shaped some of the first twin fins in Australia after the design was introduced to Bennett by visiting US shaper Tom Hoye in 1970 according to Surfsearch

1 comment:

aah the dreaded gloss coat..everyone has a different technique and style..no two the same and its an industry secret...you can thin gloss resin with styrene but no acetone..now that would be a disaster though the old guys back in the early 60,s thinned lam resin with acetone..pity about that...nice soft brush, 400 wetndry, 600 wetndry,1000 wetndry,1200 wetndry and 1500 wetndry.I machine the 400/600 and 1000 then by hand with soft block the 1200 and 1500..i then mavhine cut with soft cutting pad with aouto cutting paste...jeez that sounds like a lot of work...yes but it gives you a nice shiny finish and no scratches...some guys then use a sheepskin pad to buff up...but aah that sounds unfair to the sheep..and oh yeah make sure the gloss resin is well mixed as the wax tends to coagalate to the top...and oh yeah preferred temp is around 20 degrees or so ...have fun and show us some pics of your next project..Rasta

1982 Stubbies Surf Classic Burleigh

The 82 Stubbies was the pinicle of inovation period surfing and surfboard design. The heats included Mark Richards on his own hand shaped twin fin design, Cheyne Horan (winning) on a Geoff McCoy Laser Zap design with Ben Lexan designed winged Star fin, Rabbit Barthlemow on a channel bottom rounded pin tail Hot Stuff, Dane Kealoa on a T&C twin fin and Simon Anderson on his new 3 fin thruster design. Never before or since has there been such a variety of cutting edge surfboard design in one place.

Innovation Period - Definition

The innovation period of surfboard design has also been described as 'T2'. Meaning the second transition period, the first transition period of surfboard design was from late 60's to the early 70's, or short board revolution, where boards went from long boards (10') to short boards (6'), an exciting time for the likes of Dick Brewer and Bob Mc Tavish, who were sawing a foot off their boards at a time. The second transition period was from the late 70's to the early 80's when surf boards went from 1 fin to 3 fins and beyond.

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About Me

I've been collecting innovation period surf boards since 1990. I was trained as an industrial designer and I love surfboards as pieces of hydrodynamic design. I am an art lover and I appreciate surfboards as hand crafted sculptures and I admire their graphic designs and art works. Mainly I am a dedicated surfer and regularly surf each of the boards in my collection.